The Secret
by KillgarraghForever
Summary: When bandits attack, Arthur didn't expect Merlin to be stabbed. But when he was, Arthur could've never imagined what he found under the bandages. Wing!fic.
1. Chapter 1

"YAAAAAAAR!" Arthur heard the sound of approaching bandits and rolled his eyes. Did they never think? He drew his sword as his knights copied him in sync. The bandits raced out of the forest cover, brandishing various weapons at them. He whirled his sword around his wrist a few times, then charged. Arthur took down the first bandit with practiced ease. A tree branch thumped to the floor behind him, hitting a bandit right on the head. Arthur didn't have time to think about that now, not when the next idiot had come blundering at him, waving an ax above his head and screaming like a madman. He was stabbed in the gut. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur saw Gwaine and Leon dispatch of four bandits who had ganged up on one of the two knights. He smiled, then took down a few more of them. Just as the battle was coming to a close, Arthur heard a cry of pain but brushed it off. It must've been one of the bandits. If it were a knight, they would not have yelped, and Merlin usually stayed out of the fighting. Arthur disposed of the last bandit, then turned to survey their handiwork. His smile dropped as his gaze rested on one man in particular.

Arthur ran over to Merlin, who was on the ground and fighting to stay conscious. Arthur dropped to the ground next to the young man, critically inspecting him. He stifled a gasp when his gaze fell upon Merlin's middle. The man had a red tunic on, so it was clear why Arthur hadn't noticed the excessive amount of blood that had stained the tunic. Merlin groaned, then slumped, clearly unconscious. Arthur called for the knights, and Percival lifted Merlin gently and carried him away from the battlefield. Arthur followed along behind him, not wanting to lose sight of his best friend.

When they arrived back at their camp three minutes later, Arthur had almost burst with worry. Percival placed Merlin on his bedroll, and Leon rushed to fetch the medical supplies. All of them tried to remember what Merlin did in these kinds of situations. It had never occurred to them that _Merlin _himself might need their help. They had always relied on him. Arthur gnawed his bottom lip.

"Get me some water and a clean rag!" he shouted, and Elyan scurried off to find them. Arthur peeled of Merlin's brown jacket carefully, as to not disturb the wound. He pulled off the blue neckerchief and threw both items over his shoulder. "Percival! Can you hold him upright while I remove his tunic?" The gentle giant nodded, taking hold of Merlin's shoulders and lifting him into a sitting position. Elyan returned carrying a bucket and a white rag, which he placed next to Arthur. Leon appeared holding what appeared to be a small leather satchel.

"The medical herbs," he explained quickly. Arthur nodded before turning to Merlin again. He put his hands around the rim of the manservant's blood-stained tunic and lifted. He dragged it over Merlin's head, studiously avoiding looking at Merlin's body. He flung the tunic over his shoulder and turned back to Merlin. And gasped. Crisscrossing Merlin's entire torso was a multitude of bandages, ranging from just above the hips to right over the shoulders. What kind of injury would require so much bandaging? Preferring not to remove the white material, in case it made the injury requiring it worse, he grasped the now-wet rag and held it over the newest wound. After it had turned red completely, Arthur doused it in water. He asked Percival if the sword had pierced through Merlin's back, and was relieved when he replied that it had not. Arthur lifted the rag to the wound again, repeating the possess until the rag came back inspected the wound, and found that it was not as deep as he had originally believed. It looked as though the attacker had stabbed at Merlin's front, but some unknown force had pushed it back. Strange. He motioned for Leon to pass him the paste that the other man had been quietly preparing, and Leon handed it over wordlessly. Arthur took some of the gritty, green mixtures on his fingers, and smeared it around the wound, as best as he could with Merlin's bandages. Realizing he could not access the skin, he pushed the bandages up a little and applied the paste again. He took more bandages from Gwaine, he wrapped them around the young man's torso.

"That's all we can do for him, Sire," Leon said softly. "All we can do now is hope."

oo00Merlin00oo

Arthur awoke the next day feeling groggy and stiff. He groaned, then got up. Suddenly, he remembered Merlin. Dashing to the young man's side, Arthur was relieved to find that his manservant was still asleep, snoring lightly. He breathed a sigh of relief. An hour later, they had packed up the camp and were preparing to make off when a groan sounded from the ground.

"What happened...?" Arthur dropped his bedroll and ran over to Merlin, who had regained consciousness. "What happened?" Merlin repeated. "And why does my stomach hurt?" Arthur smiled reassuringly.

"You were stabbed yesterday. When the bandits attacked," Merlin looked suddenly fearful. "I treated you as best I could."

"Did you... remove the bandages?" he asked quietly.

"No." Merlin looked relieved for some reason, though for the life of him Arthur couldn't figure out why. "Will you be well enough to ride back to Camelot?"

"Yes," Merlin said after a pause. "I should be fine." They finished packing the horses, then mounted. They rode off towards Camelot.

oo00Merlin00oo

As they reached the city gates, Merlin suddenly slumped over, narrowly avoiding falling off his horse. Elyan, who had been riding next to him, shouted the alarm. Arthur slowed his stead and leaped off next to Merlin. He gently lifted the young man off of his horse and carried Merlin over to his one. Positioning him in the saddle, then mounting himself, Arthur rode for Camelot at speed, leaving the knights to take the supplies back. He rode straight through the gates and leaped off. He grabbed Merlin and carried him to Gaius's chambers.

"Gaius!" He shouted, and the old man ran into the room. Glancing at the pair of them, Gaius took in Merlin's haggard appearance.

"Quickly, put him on the bed!" Arthur did as he was instructed, and lay Merlin down gently, taking off Merlin's tunic as he did. Gaius gasped at the sight of all the bandages.

"I take it you didn't know about all these?" Arthur asked, and Gaius nodded. Arthur frowned. If Gaius hadn't put them there, then why had Merlin. Gaius began to slowly unwind the bandages Arthur had put on Merlin, then frowned, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Did you add a herbal paste?" Arthur nodded. "Good. That should help speed up the healing." Gaius tried to work around the bandages left on Merlin's body but gave up after a few tries. "I'm going to have to remove these," he gestured at the white strips of cloth encircling Merlin's torso. Arthur nodded, then obligingly held Merlin up so that Gaius could remove them. He kept his eyes shut until he heard Gaius softly exclaim two words: "Oh, my,". Arthur opened his eyes and saw something his brain didn't compute. _Look again, _his brain said. _We're looking, _his eyes insisted, _they're there. _Arthur took in the breathtaking sight before him. Two lengths of black, almost blue feathers cascaded in gentle waves from Merlin's shoulder blades. He placed a hand on one of them and brushed down. They felt soft, like silk. Merlin rolled in his sleep, and his... his _wings _curled around him, like a blanket. Gaius shuffled off and came back holding a vial of some foul-smelling concoction and fresh bandages.

"Hold him up for me again. And see if you can pull the wings out of the way." Gaius seemed to be too calm for the situation, but maybe that was because he cared for Merlin, and was focused on healing him. Arthur obliged, lifting the young man (angel? Magical creature? Arthur didn't know.) with one hand, and moving the wings with the other. Merlin shivered as Gaius poured some of the stuff onto the sword wound. He then wrapped the fresh bandages around it. He entered Merlin's room and found his ward a nightshirt. "Could you carry him to his bed, Sire?" Gaius asked, and Arthur silently lifted his sleeping friend and carried him to his bed.

"Inform me when he wakes, Gaius," Arthur instructed, then left the physician's quarters. He headed for his quarters and flopped on his bed. He had far too much to think about.

oo00Merlin00oo

Merlin woke the next morning, his wings wrapped around him like a comfort blanket. Wait, his _wings_? Merlin felt his torso and was troubled to find that only his middle had any of his usual wrappings. It felt good to be free of them, but Merlin worried why they had come off in the first place. His fevered brain offered up a collection of memories and comments on the day before. He groaned loudly, then got off of his bed and lifted the loose floorboard. He kept a spare amount of bindings there, and as he wrapped his wings, he wondered if Gaius, or, Gods forbid, _Arthur _had seen his wings. _It's not like I've got a choice if I have them or not, _he thought, snorting. Having tied off the last of his bindings, he changed out of his night things and into his usual blue tunic, brown trousers, and red neckerchief. He frowned when he couldn't find his jacket, but he shrugged it off. Stretching, he opened the door to his small room and heard a crash of glass. His head whipped up to find Gaius staring at him in shock. Gaius shook his head and began to sweep up the shattered glass object. Merlin quickly took the broom from him and bent over.

"Let me do-" He was cut off by a sharp twinge of pain from his front. "Ow!" he exclaimed loudly. Gaius grabbed him to stop him from falling over. He led Merlin over to a chair and had him sit down. Merlin's gut twisted. _Does Gaius know? _The man in question pulled another chair up, and sat in it, facing Merlin. He peered at him, an eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Merlin, take off your shirt," Gaius ordered. Merlin stared at him, not comprehending. Gaius sighed and repeated the order. Merlin reluctantly lifted the blue material from his lanky frame and stared at the floor. "Merlin, why have you got so many bandages on?" the physician asked, and Merlin suspected he already knew the answer. He lied anyway.

"Because I use them as... like a way of binding my magic. It was Mum who first started it," he said. He'd practiced the words so many time they sounded like truth. Almost. Gaius sighed, and Merlin felt a lump in his throat.

"My boy, that's not why they are there, is it? When were you going to tell me about your wings?" Merlin's heart skipped a beat. So Gaius knew. Did that mean Arthur did too?

"The truth is, I wasn't going to," he explained. "I didn't want anyone to know that I'm a freak of nature in more than one way, and it's not even natural." Gaius raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to continue. Merlin chuckled humorlessly. "I wasn't born with these. I gained them three days after my birth. The Druid seers felt the birth of Emrys... my birth... And sent one of their own to give me a gift for something I hadn't even done yet. Something I still haven't done. At age four, when I was old enough to walk, my mother bound my wings to hide them from everyone else. Not even Will knew. No-one except me and Mum." Merlin looked down at his feet nervously while the old man pondered what he'd learned. He looked up when Gaius began to speak.

"Oh, my boy. You could have told me. What did you think I'd do? Anyway, I suppose you want to know who knows?" Merlin nodded mutely. "I know, for one, and so does Arthur." Merlin sucked in a sharp breath. "That reminds me, he wanted to know when you'd woken up," he added when a small serving boy appeared at the door. "Please inform the King that Merlin is awake," he informed the boy, and he scurried away. Merlin pulled his tunic back over his head, and Gaius made a disproving noise. "Now, Merlin, when Arthur gets here, I want to examine those wings of yours." At that moment, a puffing King Arthur appeared at the door. "Speak of the Devil," Gaius muttered, then addressed Arthur. "Sire! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Arthur nodded, distracted by his manservant. Arthur stared shamelessly at Merlin, or, more accurately, at his back.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked timidly. An awkward silence followed. Finally, Arthur spoke. Loudly.

"MERLIN! Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you! Why didn't I notice?" Arthur raged.

"I didn't tell anyone, not even Gaius. And just _how _could you have helped? It's not like trying to cut them off would've done anything except bring me pain!" Merlin answered, growing louder as he continued. By the end, he'd nearly shouted.

"Take them off," Arthur instructed quietly. Merlin looked at him, startled.

"Take off _what_?" he asked.

"You know exactly what I mean, _Mer_lin. Now take them off." Merlin sighed as he pulled his tunic off for the second time that day. He deliberately turned away from Arthur as he began to slowly unwrap the lengths of white material. As the last one came off, Merlin let his wings unfurl outwards. It felt good until he turned back to Arthur. He stared at the ground and allowed Arthur to examine his appearance. The King sucked in a breath. "Wow. Merlin, I... When I woke up, I thought it might have been some crazy dream, but..." Arthur swallowed. "Can you fly?" Arthur's question threw Merlin off guard. He folded his wings so tightly to his back that it hurt.

"What?"

"Are you going deaf, _Mer_lin? I said, can you fly?"

"I... Yes. Yes, I can," Merlin answered.

"Will you show me?"

"Uh... Sure," Merlin agreed, and Arthur nodded. They left Gaius's chambers and headed towards the Forest. Merlin made sure to keep his wings hidden, and out of sight.

oo00Merlin00oo

Merlin entered the clearing first. He breathed in the clean forest air, laced with the smells of Autumn. Arthur followed, not far behind. Merlin tugged his tunic over his head and splayed his wings. He smiled at Arthur, who leaned against a tree and bit into an apple he'd swiped from a passing maid.

"So, _Mer_lin, going to show me flying any time soon, or are you going to stand there like an idiot?" Arthur said. Merlin smirked at the royal ass.

"Well, if you insist, _Sire._" And with that, Merlin kicked off of the ground. With a powerful thrust from his wings, he was in the air. He felt the thrill of flight, climbing a few feet with another flap. He heard Arthur gasp underneath him, and snickered. He turned in a full circle above the clearing and came down to land. He dived and landed directly in front of Arthur.

"MERLIN!" the prat yelled. "Don't do that!" Merlin smiled innocently as the King of Camelot let out a few choice words that Gwen would've had his head for.

"Sorry, _your Highness_," he smirked. Just then, Merlin heard something disturb a twig only a few feet away. He saw Arthur tense, and Merlin quickly pulled the tunic back over his head. A man draped in black material, holding a staff carved to resemble a snake's head came barrelling out of the bushes. Merlin stared at the staff; he could feel the dark magic coming off it in waves. The robes had long sleeves, and the man had iron spangles hanging from the shoulders. The staff was wooden, and the right eye of the snake was made of red stone. Merlin shivered when he realized that the stone was the source of the dark power. When the man spoke, it was with gravelly tones that sounded like this man didn't speak much. He turned to Merlin.

"Hello, Emrys."

**Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC, and Castellan belongs to Uncle Rick... Sorta. I _may _have evilized him a _tiny_ bit.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello! I'm so sorry about the two-month wait, life's been hectic! I hope this makes up for it, though. If it doesn't, well, at least I tried!**

**Merlin: No, you didn't.**

**WHAT! MERLIN? GET BACK IN THE STORY!**

**Merlin: *disappears***

**Disclaimer: I own the universe, I just let others think they own part of it.**

_**Previously on**_** The Secret****_:_**

_Just then, Merlin heard something disturb a twig only a few feet away. He saw Arthur tense, and Merlin quickly pulled the tunic back over his head. A man draped in black material, holding a staff carved to resemble a snake's head came barrelling out of the bushes. Merlin stared at the staff; he could feel the dark magic coming off it in waves. The robes had long sleeves, and the man had iron spangles hanging from the shoulders. The staff was wooden, and the right eye of the snake was made of red stone. Merlin shivered when he realized that the stone was the source of the dark power. When the man spoke, it was with gravelly tones that sounded like this man didn't speak much. He turned to Merlin._

_"Hello, Emrys."_

**_Now:_**

"Who the hell are you?" Arthur asked the strange man. "And who is 'Emrys'?" The strange man ignored him and turned to face Merlin. He glared at him, and Merlin glared back.

"What is it this time?" he drawled, well-aware (or so he thought) of the man's intentions. "You've come to: kill, poison, maim or otherwise hurt Arthur, which isn't going to happen, then take your revenge for how Uther treated you, and probably take over Camelot for good measure, or maybe your working for Morgana." Merlin ticked them off his fingers as he said them. "It doesn't matter. You won't succeed." The man growled low in his troated, the sound of an animal, a sound no sane person should be able to make. Arthur drew his sword and Merlin cursed internally. A well-timed sudden tree branch should be enough to keep his secret (well, the 'Merlin-has-magic' one, anyway) from being discovered. Arthur might have accepted his wings, but he'd been brought up to hate all magic, sorcerers, witches, and warlocks. Arthur himself was wondering what happened to the Merlin he met on Merlin's first day in Camelot. The snarky boy who didn't treat Arthur like some precious diamond, and rather like the snobbish brat Arthur supposed he must have been. But Merlin had never faced down a sorcerer like this, especially one so obviously evil, even if they all were some of them were misguided. This bloke was evil, and his staff gave Arthur a bad feeling. The man laughed, but it sounded more like nails on a chalkboard.

"You honestly think you can defeat me, Emrys? Ha! Such naivety! You couldn't beat me even if you were twice as powerful!" the man sneered. Merlin glared at him and let his eyes flash gold, causing a tree branch to fall directly above the man, who saw it coming and dove out of the way. He laughed again, and Merlin scowled. Another branch fell from a tree above Arthur, who didn't see it coming and got hit on the head with it. Usually, this would result in a fractured skull, but the branch had a layer of bracken that stopped the worst of the injury. Arthur fell to the floor, dramatic even in unconsciousness. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and Arthur teleported behind the tree line, safely out of the line of fire and Merlin was now out of Arthur's sight, meaning he could use his magic to its full potential and not have to worry about being exposed. The man glared at Merlin and began to chant something in the Old Religion.

"Canne êow tîfrian mid æthwâ sê blêo blêos of duguð âwindan!"

As he spoke, the stone on his staff began to grow brighter with a kind of light that wasn't light. It was a sort of a _dark_-light or an infra-black. Infra-black does exist, and if you ram your head against a brick wall, the colour that flashes behind your eyes in bursts just before you die is infra-black. Anyway, the stone began to glow even brighter than before and a stream of black began to ooze steadily out of it. The black stuff curled around the staff like living tar. The man then cackled evilly and chanted something else.

"Sîn hlêg foldbûend! we must sý flêotig lêo sê flôwing flêot!" he shouted, and the infra-black gunge flew sluggishly at Merlin, who flew upwards to escape the stuff. He had a feeling that if that stuff touched him, it would not be good. The man scowled, and shouted something else, causing the tar to come at Merlin again, whose eyes flashed gold. A golden shield appeared in front of him, and the dark-light splattered all over it, evaporating as soon as it touched the surface. The man scowled and yelled out another command.

"Hwæðere yfel wunian fulnêah hêr!"

More stuff oozed from his staff, but this time it split off into different blobs.

"Lôc ðætte sý oð dôð godspellian sôðes!"

They then twisted and elongated until they morphed into five huge snakes, and Merlin was willing to bet that they were more poisonous than an adder. In fact, they were about as poisonous as a grass snake, but Merlin wasn't to now that. Even if the snakes weren't poisonous, they were about as thick as a boa constrictor, and could probably crush Merlin before he had time to cast a single spell. The middle one lunged at him, baring its fangs, and Merlin quickly let his eyes go gho- I mean, go gold and the snake fell to the ground where the earth swallowed it up. The strange man looked uneasy as no one had managed to defeat his snakes before. But, then again, this _was_ Emrys, most powerful sorcerer to walk the earth. The man called out.

"Mâl bêga b¯æteceorlisc settan uppe!"

A red substance began flowing out of the staff with much more grace than the dark-light, but, then again, it wasn't trying to be an oxymoron. It sailed through the air and straight at the snakes. The snakes absorbed the stuff, and their eyes glowed red. Not that Merlin knew, but they had just become more poisonous than a black mamba. Two of them darted at Merlin who threw up a shield just in time to stop himself from becoming a shish-kabab. He narrowed his eyes and they flashed a bright gold, causing the two remaining snakes to writhe in pain and crumble to ashes. Even though Merlin had stopped using the spell, his eyes continued to glow gold rather than revert to their normal cerulean blue. He looked around for the sorcerer and spotted him cowering behind a tree. Merlin swooped over and landed behind the man. The sorcerer turned around, grinning madly. His eyes were a sky-blue, and he had a scar over his left eye. He had short blond hair and a handsome face marred by the scar. Merlin scowled at him and the man glared back.

"Who are you?" Merlin asked, flaring his wings subconsciously in an attempt to look more frightening. The man just laughed and looked Merlin dead in the eye.

"I am Castellan. I have seen things you would not believe and have fought beasts from the very depths of the underworld. You do not scare me, little bird," he said darkly. Merlin shivered. Castellan grinned and thrust his staff forward, hitting Merlin in the chest. Merlin stumbled backward into a tree, and Castellan tried to cast another spell, but Merlin cut him off with one of his own.

"Wið−bregdan me full¯æstan, meol unm¯æte gyden!" Merlin shouted and his already gold eyes glowed brighter. His wings shimmered gold even though they were black, and Merlin took off and hovered just above where Castellan stood. His skin began to glow gold too, and Castellan began thinking that this 'little bird' was more powerful than he gave Emrys credit for. Merlin yelled, and a gold light seemed to come off of him in waves. It funneled into one continuous stream of power, and Merlin scowled darkly. He gathered the golden light into a ball and hurled it at Castellan's staff. It splintered into thousands of tiny pieces, leaving the red stone hovering in mid-air. Merlin gathered up another ball of golden light in his hands and sent a continuous jet of pure magic into the stone. The stone, being of the exact opposite of the magic Merlin was pumping into it, exploded in a small cloud of an icky-black smoke. Castellan didn't appear to be worried, however, and pulled out a sword. It was unlike any Merlin had ever seen before. The blade was leaf-shaped and quite thin. It was a long sword, about half a foot longer than the knights' swords. Half of the blade was made of metal resembling iron, but the other was made of a kind of bronze Merlin had never seen before. It glowed slightly, and where the two metals were fused gave off a horrible feeling. Merlin had a feeling someone had died in the making of that blade, he was certain.

Merlin heard a shout of alarm and immediately stopped glowing. It had sounded like Arthur so Merlin turned around midair to check. Big mistake. Castellan slashed at Merlin's wings and he a cry at the sudden pain. Merlin fell to the ground and Castellan laughed cruelly. Merlin could just make out a figure coming through the trees yelling his name. It sounded like Arthur, Merlin realized before the darkness overtook him and he fell unconscious.

* * *

Arthur woke up in the forest outside Camelot. This confused him, as he was sure he'd been with Merlin in that clearing. _Merlin. _Where was Merlin? Arthur looked around groggily, hoping to spot his friend standing somewhere nearby, fretting over something or other. But there was no one there. Arthur shook his head and tried to clear the haze from his mind, but it clung like a burr. Arthur tried to remember what he'd been doing with Merlin in the clearing. Oh, yes, Merlin had been demonstrating what an awful flier he was. Right. And then... Arthur struggled to remember. The haze seemed thicker here like something was stopping Arthur from accessing those memories. No! He was King Arthur of Camelot, not some common peasant, and he would not be locked out from his head! As if sensing his wishes, the haze dissipated, leaving Arthur with a full recollection of what happened just an hour earlier. Some strange man, obviously a sorcerer, and appeared. He'd mentioned someone named 'Emrys' and attacked Merlin. Something heavy had hit him on the head and he'd passed out. Wait, the sorcerer had attacked _Merlin_? He needed to go and help his friend. But, then again, it might be too late. No! Until he had definite proof, Merlin was alive. He got to his feet, drew his sword and ran off in the direction of the clearing.

When Arthur arrived, he saw Merlin in the air, facing the sorcerer. He was surrounded by a golden glow. Arthur gasped. The sorcerer was casting a spell on Merlin! At his gasp, the glow disappeared abruptly, and Merlin turned around in the air. Arthur ran towards him, but it was too late. Merlin yelled out in pain and collapsed on the floor. The sorcerer held his sword, dripping Merlin's blood.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, and ran towards his friend just as he fell unconscious. The sorcerer smirked.

"So, the little bird has a friend? And a human one at that. Well, little birds shouldn't have human friends, so I suppose I'll just have to kill this one," the sorcerer said, grinning as he swung his blade at Arthur, who quickly blocked and threw a blow of his own. They clashed, iron on iron, iron on bronze, sword on skin. Eventually, they both grew tired. They were evenly matched, but Arthur knew that the sorcerer would not hesitate to kill Merlin or anyone in Camelot. Arthur fought with renewed strength. He would not allow this man to harm anyone else! He swung his sword hard at the other man, and the sorcerer was not fast enough to block it and was hit it the side with Arthur's blade. He fell to the ground, dead. Arthur smiled in grim satisfaction before remembering Merlin. He rushed over to his best friend, scooped him up and carried him back to Camelot. That might sound like a feat, but Merlin weighed next to nothing and Camelot was only half a mile away.

* * *

"Ow."

Merlin woke in Gaius's chambers with his wings and abdomen hurting. He felt his wings to find them wrapped in gauze, then looked around through the darkness to see Gaius asleep in a chair next to his bed. Merlin smiled and silently thanked the old man. Merlin looked around to the other side of the bed and saw that someone else was asleep in a chair. Merlin looked closer and saw that it was none other than Arthur. Merlin smiled softly and tried to sit up, but accidentally pulled at one of his bandaged wings. "OW!" he cried out, and both Gaius and Arthur woke with a start.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed. "You're awake!" Merlin winced at the sudden noise. "Sorry," Arthur apologized at seeing the wince.

"Merlin, my boy! How are you feeling?" Gaius asked after seeing his ward was awake. Merlin grimaced.

"Like I got trampled by a Hippogriff," he answered in truth. His middle and wings hurt like hell. Gaius got up and grabbed a bottle of a grey potion.

"Here, drink this," he said, wafting it around in front of Merlin's face. Merlin wrinkled his nose at the stink coming off the potion. "Come on, drink up," Gaius commanded, handing Merlin the bottle. Merlin steeled himself and brought the bottle to his lips. He poured the grey, lumpy concoction down his throat, grimacing at the foul taste of it. Arthur silently laughed at his friend's misfortune, causing Merlin to poke his tongue out at the king.

A few days later, Merlin had healed and was back to doing his duties. By now, everyone in the castle had found out about his wings and they had told everyone in the lower town. Merlin no longer hid his wings, and most people were okay with them, having been told that some sorcerer or other had cursed Merlin to have them. But not everyone was happy to see Merlin alive and well, and with wings. They knew the legend of Emrys, and how he would bring about peace and the time of the Once and Future King. The legend tells that Emrys has been given a gift by the druid elders, and they felt certain that the king's manservant was Emrys. The Lady Morgana would be pleased with them. They scampered off into the night to tell her of this latest discovery.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello, and welcome back to that fic I haven't updated in four months! I'm really sorry, anyone who bothers to read this. Anyway, in this, I am mean to Merlin, a spy invents the Amazon Alexa, and Arthur gives Merlin the shortest list of chores he's ever given him. Find all this and more in this chapter of: The Secret! **

**Merlin: Why are you being all dramatic? **

**Because I want to! Aren't you supposed to be asleep? **

**Merlin: Oh yeah! *disappears***

**Anyway, enjoy! **

_Then:_

_A few days later, Merlin had healed enough to go back to doing his duties. By now, everyone in the castle had found out about his wings and they had told everyone in the lower town. Merlin no longer hid his wings, and most people were okay with them, having been told that some sorcerer or other had cursed Merlin to have them. But not everyone was happy to see Merlin alive and well, and with wings. They knew the legend of Emrys, and how he would bring about peace and the time of the Once and Future King. The legend tells that Emrys has been given a gift by the druid elders, and they felt certain that the king's manservant was Emrys. The Lady Morgana would be pleased with them. They scampered off into the night to tell her of this latest discovery._

_Now:_

"WHAT?!" Morgana yelled as her spy informed her of Merlin's wingedness. "Merlin, that pathetic little servant, Emrys? No, I will not believe it." The spy smiled grimly, having expected this. From the folds of their cloak, they produced a device that was small in size and very odd. It was a squat cylinder, with a band of grey encircling the outside and the top being white in colour. It had various symbols on it, including a dot that the spy pressed down. The outer rim of the white circle glowed blue.

"Hippolyta, play memory: 'Proof of Merlin being Emrys'," the spy commanded it. A grey square appeared above the 'Hippolyta', and an image flickered into life. It was obviously from the spy's perspective, as their hand came into view. It pointed at a figure in the distance, who was clearly Merlin, going on the simply outrageous amount of armour piled into his hands. Merlin stumbled through the corridor at the end of which the spy was watching. Merlin tripped over something, and the armour went crashing to the floor, along with Merlin. But not for long! Large black wings snapped out behind Merlin, flapping and keeping him from falling over. There was a loud gasp from behind the spy, and Gwen ran into view, going over to Merlin and obviously asking him if he was alright. The memory ended, and the square disappeared, along with the blue glow on the Hippolyta. Morgana had been the one to gasp. She spun around to face the spy, her eyes wide and her mouth set in a thin line. Her tangled black hair swished into her face. Morgana ignored it.

"So it's true?" At the spy's nod, Morgana's face twisted, and her voice filled with anger. "After all this time, Emrys, my doom, was a useless servant! I must go to Camelot at once, and change my fate and kill my doom! Spy, when is the next time Merlin and my _dear_ brother will be alone?" The spy thought for a moment, and replaced the Hippolyta with a spiral bound sheaf of parchment. They flipped through it, searching.

"Aha! So, the King has planned a hunting trip in about a week's time, mi'lady. Erm, it's just him and a few knights and Merlin going, and he's planned it to take the entire day, so there's no chance of anyone back in the castle getting suspicious if they're not back within an hour or something. Okay," the spy said, eyes scanning the parchment. "They're going to the... far northern part of Camelot's main forest, about 15 miles or so from the city. Perfect spot for a surprise attack." The spy returned the spiral bound parchment to their cloak, and looked up at Morgana. Morgana's eyebrows were furrowed for a second, and then her face cleared.

"Yes, good," she praised, and waved a hand in the vague direction of Camelot. "Go back there, and try and speak to Merlin. You're friends with him, aren't you? See if the wings he has are from some curse, or if he is Emrys. Now go!" Mogana guestured dramatically at the door, and it opened with a loud thunk. A glass jar fell to the floor and smashed, leaking a thick purple mush onto the floor. The spy fled, fearing Morgana's wrath but mostly wanting to get out of the stinking hovel and away from whatever that purple stuff was.

ooOMerlinOoo

Merlin groaned and his wings flexed slightly as Arthur began ranting about how some new knight was completely useless.

"Honestly, Merlin, he was worse with a sword than you are! His footwork was sloppy, he kept falling over and he didn't seem to know one end of the sword from the other! I only made him a knight because he helped defend us from a wyvern attack, but come to think of it, he didn't use any weapon other than a dagger. But still! He's useless!" Arthur ranted, completely oblivious to the fact that Merlin simply did not care about this new 'Sir Hiccup'. He resigned himself to listening to Arthur rant for at least half an hour, which Arthur happily obliged to, even going as far as to rant for 43 minutes and 51 seconds (Merlin was keeping count). "Merlin, go and tell Sirs Gwaine, Percival and Elyan to prepare for a hunting trip tomorrow at dawn. And after that you'll need to sharpen my sword, prepare a day's worth of food and supplies, find a crossbow, polish my armour, muck out my stables and feed my dogs." At this point, the author ran out of things for Merlin to do, so he was pleasantly surprised when Arthur's list of chores stopped at only seven tasks. Not wanting to test his luck, he ran off immediately to go and find Percival and Elyan.

"Percival!" Merlin shouted to his friend. Percival was teaching a scrawny looking man with messy brown hair and large green eyes how to hold a sword properly. He smiled when he heard Merlin and beckoned him over. Merlin quickly folded his wings behind his back. This was a new person and not everyone in Camelot had been as accepting as Arthur.

"Merlin, this is Sir Hiccup, a new knight. Hiccup, this is Merlin, the king's manservant," Percival introduced them.

"Hi," Hiccup greeted.

"Hello," Merlin replied. "Percival, his royal prattness has planned another hunt for tomorrow at dawn, and he wants you, Elyan and Gwaine to come. Any idea where Elyan is?"

"I think he might be over by the gates," Percival suggested.

"Thanks! It was nice to meet you, Sir Hiccup," Merlin grinned, waving and running off in the direction of the lower town. bHe heard Hiccup shout behind him.

"Are those wings? Awesome!" He smiled. He reached the gates, and found Elyan sitting on a crate, looking bored. "Elyan!" Merlin shouted, drawing said knight's attention away from his shoes and to Merlin, who came to a stop next to Elyan's crate. "Arthur's got a hunt planned for dawn tomorrow, and he wants you to come."

"Who else is coming?" Elyan asked curiously.

"Um... Me, Arthur, Percival and Gwaine."

"Ah, okay. Thanks for the heads up, Merlin! See you tomorrow," Elyan thanked as Merlin waved again and walked off in the direction of the main town.

There was no need to ask where Gwaine would be at this time of day (early evening). Merlin entered the Rising Sun tavern, and, sure enough, there sat Gwaine, already surrounded by three mugs. Merlin supposed they used to contain the ale that was now certainly contained in the knight.

"Merlin!" Gwaine called. "Nice to see you in a tavern for once! Care to join me for a drink?" Out of everyone, Gwaine had been the most accepting of his wings. When the drunken knight had found out, he'd immediately asked if Merlin could fly, and, upon discovering the answer, had asked Merlin to fly into the tavern and buy him a pint of ale. Merlin hadn't laughed, having been terrified of his friend's reaction, so Gwaine had slapped him on the back and laughed for him. Anyway, Merlin of the present found himself being pulled towards a table by the wing by the present Gwaine, and futilely tried to pull away.

"No thanks, Gwaine," he said, pulling himself free of the knight's grip. "I only came here to tell you that Arthur's planned another hunt tomorrow at dawn, so don't drink too much ale."

"Too much ale?" Gwaine repeated, grinning. "There's no such thing as too much ale! Another round!" Merlin quickly left the tavern, and headed back to the castle before he could be roped into one of Gwaine's extensive drinking games.

ooOMerlinOoo

In the armoury, Merlin was polishing Arthur's armour and grumbling under his breath about it, feathers slightly puffed up. As he worked at a particularly stubborn bit of grime, he heard someone come in through the door. Quickly, he stopped his magic from cleaning the rest of Arthur's armour, which fell noisily to the floor. A face peered around the corner at him. It was one of the court servants, who quickly stepped inside and began picking up the armour Merlin had dropped.

"No, don't worry, I can handle it," Merlin said, holding up a hand to stop them. They stopped, smiling up at Merlin until they spotted his wings, which were held relaxedly behind him. Then they squeaked, and pointed with a shaking finger at his wings. Merlin frowned. "What's the prob... Oh. Yeah. My wings." Said wings drooped and Merlin hurried to explain the fake story behind them. "A few days ago, I was cursed by a vengeful sorcerer to turn into a bird at best guess, but Art.. I mean, the King killed the sorcerer mid-spell and so I ended up with these." He gestured at them. The servant nodded.

"I see. May I ask, why would the sorcerer be trying to turn _you_ into a bird, and not the King or one of the knights?" the other servant asked with a thick accent (French, if you were wondering). Merlin couldn't quite place it, but it sounded odd, almost as if they were putting it on. He decided not to mention it.

"I, uh, jumped in front of the spell. It was aimed at the King. I'm not sure on why the sorcerer wanted to turn the King into a bird, but who am I to fathom the mind of a sorcerer?" he chuckled nervously.

"I see," the other servant repeated, narrowing their eyes at Merlin. "So it was definitely a sorcerer then, and not, perhaps... an affliction you were born with, being Emrys?" Merlin's eyes widened a fraction, and he tried to look confused.

"Yep, definitely a sorcerer. Who's Emrys?" Merlin asked, feigning confidence. The servant smiled slightly.

"He is no one of consequence. Thank you for your time, Merlin." The servant left quickly.

"Wait! How did you know my... name," Merlin trailed off, seeing that they had already gone.

ooOMerlinOoo

Dawn spread its rosy fingers across the sky, bathing Camelot in golden light. For Merlin, however, the beauty of the dawn was not something to be celebrated. He sluggishly rose from his bed and grabbed the pack he had packed the day prior. Traipsing through the silent castle, wings trailing on the ground, Merlin pondered whether he'd be hit with a goblet or a pillow when he woke the pratty princess. 'Oh well,' he thought as he reached Arthur's door. 'I'll find out in a minute.'

Merlin threw open the curtains, letting the weak dawn light into the room. A groan came from under the mass of pillows on Arthur's bed.

"Up and at 'em, you lazy daisy!" he said cheerfully, pulling the covers off of the bed to reveal Arthur.

"Lazy daisy? Can't you come up with anything else, Merlin?" Arthur said. Or, at least, would have said had his face not been pressed into a pillow. What he actually said was something like: "L'zy d'zy? C'n 'ou c'mup wiv an'fing 'ig'nal, M'li'?" But, seeing as Merlin speaks 'half asleep Arthur' fluently, this doesn't matter that much.

"Yes I can, Arthur, but you're to sleepy to appreciate it. You've got that hunt today, so you need to get up!" With the last two words, Merlin tugged Arthur out of bed. Arthur then woke up some more and Merlin helped him dress. They then left for the courtyard where a stable hand had five horses tacked up and loaded with enough supplies to last them all day. Arthur mounted his horse, and told the stable hand to inform the other knights that he would be back at nightfall. Percival and Elyan arrived together, smiling at Merlin and bowing their heads to Arthur, then mounting their horses. Then Gwaine staggered over to his horse and attempted to mount it, falling off and then trying again, successfully. Arthur frowned at him and he grinned back. Merlin mounted his horse, wings hanging comfortably behind him. Together, they rode off towards the northern forest, unaware of the danger that lurked within.

ooOMerlinOoo

At the same time, the spy, who had been the servant with the terrible French accent, in case you hadn't noticed, was reporting to Morgana.

"So, yeah. I asked him about his wings, and he says that some sorcerer tried to turn him into a bird, can you believe it? So I ask him if he's Emrys -"

"You what?" Morgana screeched. The spy waved her off.

"Don't worry, I was very subtle about it. So, I ask, and he goes, 'No, I'm not Emrys. Whose Emrys?' and he seemed pretty sincere, so I think that the ridiculous bird story was true and Merlin is just Merlin," the spy finished. Morgana frowned at them. "But today's hunt is still a fantastic time to kill Arthur," they added. Morgana smirked.

"Then we need to go. Now!" Morgana shouted the last word and the two of them were enveloped in a swirling tornado of wind and leaves and some of that purple gunk Morgana hadn't cleaned up. The echo of the spy's cry of "I shouldn't come with yooooouuuu!" reverberated around the now empty hovel. Morgana (and her reluctant assistant) had left, and Arthur was in deep trouble, because in this universe, Morgana is capable of killing Arthur before the battle of Camlann!


End file.
